Peace coin 'celebrates' Franco dictatorship

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A new commemorative coin is causing controversy in Spain for celebrating "70 years of peace" - including 36 years of a fascist dictatorship.

A new coin celebrating "70 years of peace" in Europe since the end of the Second World War has caused controversy in Spain because nearly four decades of that time corresponds to the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

The coin, which bares the image of King Felipe VI, is seen as brushing aside the 36 years that Spain spent under the dictatorship of Franco, who seized power in a violent coup plunging the nation into a bloody civil war.

"It’s a lack of respect to all those Spaniards who were denied democracy," Emilio Silva, of the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory told The Local.

"In 1945 there were thousands of political prisoners - we were very very far from peace," Silva, who campaigns for the rights of the families of civil war victims, told The Local, "it was a big mistake to make this new coin," he added.

The €200 ($212) commemorative coin has been made by the Spanish Royal Mint as part of a Europe-wide series of collectable coins.

But many Spaniards have been showing their disapproval on social media.